As in the BP transaction, the government-owned Rosneft turned to Magic Circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for outside counsel on the joint development agreement with Exxon Mobil, under which the parties will work together to develop deepwater oil and gas resources in areas like the Tuapse Trough.

Frank Miller, a corporate partner in Freshfields's London office, is advising Rosneft on the Exxon Mobil agreement, along with senior associates Sergei Diyachenko and Alexey Tokovinin in Moscow. Rosneft's in-house vice president for legal support is Larisa Kalanda, who also serves as deputy chair of the company's management board.

A spokesman for Exxon Mobil told The Am Law Daily in an e-mail that he did not have information on outside counsel for the Dallas-based company on its deal with Rosneft. Alan Jeffers said the agreement was only recently announced, and that Exxon Mobil expects to work out the final details later in the year. Reuters reports that the oil accord calls for a 50-50 ownership split at the exploration stage and 66-33 exchange in favor of Rosneft at the development stage.